08 October, 2010

We get a lot of e-mail questions at VO, an awful lot! I thought I'd answer a few of the ones that have recently been asked several times.

On Cranks:

When will you have more sizes?

We have a 40-foot container due in at the end of the month. All the VO and Grand Cru cranks will be on it, except for the 172.5 sizes. They are a couple of months out.

Will you sell just the 50.4bcd arms, rings, bolts, single speed version, etc?

We'll have chainrings in various sizes in about 2-3 months. The bolts are already for sale. I have not yet decided if we'll sell the arms separately. A single speed version with various single speed specific rings is on the way, maybe by late fall.

On drop Bars:

When will you have other sizes:

Most sizes will be here in a few weeks, but the 48mm Rando bars are delayed a couple of months.

Will two rolls of tape cover them?

Of course, just like any other bar.

On Rims?

When will the wider version of the PBP rims arrive?

Soon, maybe two months. They will be called the Raid rim and be 22mm wide, but look like the PBP.

Will they have double eyelets?

We are working on a double eyelet version of the PBP rim first. Once that's done we'll see about the Raid rims.

On Hubs:

What's up with the hubs you wrote about?

We've been testing them and all but the high flange cassette hub are going into production ASAP. We hope to have them in a few months. This has taken longer than expected, but when you see the quality and style of the final versions I think you'll be impressed. The wide flange cassette hub body is an all-new design so it's taking longer to get just right. The high-low cassette hub is done and in production.

What about the "game changing" dyno hub?

We've put many many miles of real world testing on the prototypes as has the factory. They are now in production and should be here this fall. We'll have a matching LED light that is brilliant (pun intended). I'm super impressed with this combination. The price is great, but the performance is ground breaking.

I'm just curious, I build my own electronics for "normal" hubs, and they work well and have low drag because they pull relatively low current (switching power supplies work nicely that way). It's enough of a difference that I noticed it when I had the circuit wrong (adjusted to pull too much current).

Re: the dyno hub, it would be great if there was a disc compatible one available as well. Front wheels are plenty strong either way and having the option of adding a disc doesn't make the hub hideous or anything...

Regarding the dyno hub, anyone who buys one can test it; we encourage them to. In addition we'll be happy to provide free samples to blogs and magazines that we trust to be fair and balanced. As to why it's game changing, that's still a closely guarded secret; sorry.

As for the rings. The list of new sizes is at the office and I'm off for a camping trip this weekend, but they are the common sizes you'd except. 26t and 28t are on the list, if memory serves.

Not sure if I'm the right person to test the new hub; I just commute, it gets dark in the winter. I already have a light, but it would not be a meaningful comparison for most people, because it is one I built myself.

I don't yet know if we'll make triple bolts for the 50.4bcd cranks. We make those cranks primarily because they make such great wide-range double. If you want a triple, the upcoming 110/74bcd Grand Cru triple might be a nice choice.

Chris, Five speeds, single, etc. need 46T, and some others around there somewhere. TA made a whole bunch of them, but they simply are not available. I will immediately buy if these are for sale. I've been looking for years...they don't come up.